Expert Eye: Christchurch charity show

MisteR showed as part of the Christchurch charity show. Photo / Babiche Martens

Almost a year on from the first devastating Christchurch earthquake, Fashion Week held a charity show allowing designers from the city to show for free.

Among those in the audience was TV3 presenter Mike McRoberts and his wife, 60 Minutes reporter Paula Penfold. McRoberts hails from Christchurch and reported on the quakes.

Fashion Week founder Pieter Stewart is a Cantabrian also and splits her time between there and Auckland. The Stewart family home at Hororata was also damaged on September 4 and her daughter Annelise is preparing an exhibition featuring works using objects reclaimed from historic buildings.

Daughter Myken explained that they wanted to do something to assist the designers who had lost sales and, in some cases, premises through the quake. A collection was held among the audience.

The standout of the group show was MisteR, with some smart merino menswear knits and loud plaid suiting.

Kathryn Leah Payne, whose Fashion Week debut last year was disrupted by the quake, was back this year - along with Angela Stone and the established Caroline Moore and Sakaguchi labels.